Search And Rescue

Local Cub Scouts got a preview Tuesday afternoon on how authorities rescue stranded hikers and climb snowy mountain ranges. They passed around an ice pick, held snowshoes and tested the weight of a harness. The demonstration, held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in La Cañada Flintridge, was part of the Success Through Awareness and Resistance (STAR) program offered through the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's station. STAR teaches youth about ethics, values and possible future careers, said Deputy Eddie Tsuang.

Los Angeles County Firefighter Specialist Anthony Ramirez — better known by his middle name, Pete — returned to work Saturday at Fire Station 82 in La Cañada Flintridge after taking part last week in search-and-rescue missions along the tsunami-devastated coastline of Japan. Ramirez is a member of the elite California Task Force 2, one of only two wholly self-sufficient international disaster response teams in the country. The 74-member team of firefighters, doctors, paramedics, engineers, logisticians, hazmat technicians and other specialists carries tens of thousands of pounds of rescue and survival gear.

A lost hiker crossed paths with members of the rescue team searching for him Sunday in Angeles National Forest, authorities said. Acting on information provided by the missing hiker's wife, members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team fanned out on the trails near Buckhorn Campground, said John McKently, operations leader for the search and rescue team. McKently and another team member saw a man hiking off one of the trails and learned that he was the person they were looking for after asking his name, McKently said.

The La Cañada Chamber of Commeric in association with Verdugo Hills Hospital will host the third annual Play it Safe Emergency Expo this Saturday at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at VHH. Demonstrations will be offered in safety prevention from Fire and Sheriff?s Departments of the area. ?The [Station] fire is still on everyone?s mind,? said President and CEO of the La Cañada Chamber of Commerce Pat Anderson. ?We?ll have firefighters from Batallion 3 doing demonstrations with the jaws of life and Hazmat, telling people what to do in case of a chemical spill.

Montrose Search and Rescue members were joined by “The Incredible Hulk” on Sunday during a training on a stretch of Angeles Crest Highway where hundreds of motorcycle accidents have occurred. Sheriff Reserve Lt. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk on TV, assisted with the group at mile marker 56.5 on the highway, named “Motorcycle Corner.” Search and Rescue members found several motorcycle parts over the side of the highway. Ferrigno also spoke to the members about his work assisting with rescue teams.

Two men who slipped and fell into the water below Switzer Falls at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday escaped relatively unscathed, officials said. Mike Leum, of the Montrose Search and Rescue, said his team responded to what could have been a far more serious incident. "It initially came out as two males over the falls, which obviously was potentially a very traumatic mission," he said. "But once we got on scene...it was more of a slip and a slide down a slope into the river.

While searching for a missing 33-year-old Bakersfield hiker in the Angeles National Forest Friday, Montrose Search and Rescue members found and resuscitated a drowning toddler, according to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's office. At around 5 p.m., the search team found a girl, 1 and a half years old, face down in a pool of water near the picnic area. Reserve deputies Michael Leum and Janet Henderson aided the girl, along with her mother. The girl was flown to Northridge Hospital to receive treatment, where she was released around midnight, said Sgt. Cynthia Gonzales of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station.

Two motorcyclists suffered serious injuries after driving off the side of Angeles Crest Highway on Sunday. At 10:52 a.m. volunteers with Montrose Search and Rescue helped a motorcyclist who had driven over the side of the road at Angeles Crest near Upper Big Tujunga Road, at mile marker 42. At 12:32 p.m. crews rescued another motorcyclist who went over the side of the road in the same area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department....

Sheriff?s volunteers recognized Last year significantly tested the deputies and volunteers of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff?s Station, said Capt. Dave Silversparre, Crescenta Valley Station Commander. Two major accidents at Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Crest Highway, the Station fire and the resulting mudslides were events that ?shook the community to its core,? Silversparre said. The event was April 21 at the annual Crescenta Valley Volunteer and Reserve Recognition Dinner held at the La Cañada Thursday Club headquarters in La Cañada.

On July 1, five family members were hiking in the Switzer Falls area in Angeles National Forest. Around 4:30 p.m. four of the members decided to walk the approximate two miles back to the parking lot. By 9 p.m., when they had not arrived, the remaining family member, a son, called 911. Montrose Search and Rescue responded to the emergency call and began searching for the missing people. "There were two adults, 40- to 45 years old, a 17-year-old boy and 20-year-old girl," Janet Henderson, captain of Montrose Search and Rescue, said.

Montrose Search and Rescue members were joined by “The Incredible Hulk” on Sunday during a training on a stretch of Angeles Crest Highway where hundreds of motorcycle accidents have occurred. Sheriff Reserve Lt. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk on TV, assisted with the group at mile marker 56.5 on the highway, named “Motorcycle Corner.” Search and Rescue members found several motorcycle parts over the side of the highway. Ferrigno also spoke to the members about his work assisting with rescue teams.

Local Cub Scouts got a preview Tuesday afternoon on how authorities rescue stranded hikers and climb snowy mountain ranges. They passed around an ice pick, held snowshoes and tested the weight of a harness. The demonstration, held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in La Cañada Flintridge, was part of the Success Through Awareness and Resistance (STAR) program offered through the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's station. STAR teaches youth about ethics, values and possible future careers, said Deputy Eddie Tsuang.

While searching for a missing 33-year-old Bakersfield hiker in the Angeles National Forest Friday, Montrose Search and Rescue members found and resuscitated a drowning toddler, according to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's office. At around 5 p.m., the search team found a girl, 1 and a half years old, face down in a pool of water near the picnic area. Reserve deputies Michael Leum and Janet Henderson aided the girl, along with her mother. The girl was flown to Northridge Hospital to receive treatment, where she was released around midnight, said Sgt. Cynthia Gonzales of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station.

Two men who slipped and fell into the water below Switzer Falls at around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday escaped relatively unscathed, officials said. Mike Leum, of the Montrose Search and Rescue, said his team responded to what could have been a far more serious incident. "It initially came out as two males over the falls, which obviously was potentially a very traumatic mission," he said. "But once we got on scene...it was more of a slip and a slide down a slope into the river.

Los Angeles County Firefighter Specialist Anthony Ramirez — better known by his middle name, Pete — returned to work Saturday at Fire Station 82 in La Cañada Flintridge after taking part last week in search-and-rescue missions along the tsunami-devastated coastline of Japan. Ramirez is a member of the elite California Task Force 2, one of only two wholly self-sufficient international disaster response teams in the country. The 74-member team of firefighters, doctors, paramedics, engineers, logisticians, hazmat technicians and other specialists carries tens of thousands of pounds of rescue and survival gear.

The La Cañada Chamber of Commeric in association with Verdugo Hills Hospital will host the third annual Play it Safe Emergency Expo this Saturday at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at VHH. Demonstrations will be offered in safety prevention from Fire and Sheriff?s Departments of the area. ?The [Station] fire is still on everyone?s mind,? said President and CEO of the La Cañada Chamber of Commerce Pat Anderson. ?We?ll have firefighters from Batallion 3 doing demonstrations with the jaws of life and Hazmat, telling people what to do in case of a chemical spill.

A lost hiker crossed paths with members of the rescue team searching for him Sunday in Angeles National Forest, authorities said. Acting on information provided by the missing hiker's wife, members of the Montrose Search and Rescue Team fanned out on the trails near Buckhorn Campground, said John McKently, operations leader for the search and rescue team. McKently and another team member saw a man hiking off one of the trails and learned that he was the person they were looking for after asking his name, McKently said.